A well defined and effective Leadership/Administrative Core (LAC) that supports the activities of the OAIC is already in place at the UM Geriatrics Center. The faculty and staff in the LAC have proven leadership and administrative skills. The LAC will foster interactions among the Center Director, OAIC Core Directors and the leadership structure of the Institution as a whole. These interactions will be fostered by the administrative structure and the advisory committees which require these interactions on a regular and ongoing basis. This section of the proposal describes the role of the Center Director, the administrative structure of the OAIC and the organization of advisory committees. It is important to emphasize that the Center Director, both structurally and functionally has direct responsibility and authority for carrying out the missions of the OAIC (see Figure 1, page 235 for institutional reporting relationship). The Research Operating Committee (ROC) and the External Advisory Committee (EAC) have been established to assist the Center Leadership with policy, planning, operations and evaluation of all projects, programs, activities and services of the OAIC (see Figure 2, page 235 for the OAIC organizational structure). The LAC has been organized to ensure the Center's cohesiveness, its integration with other major related research and training programs in Geriatrics at the University, and its appropriate relationship with various UM departments, institutes and schools. The overall goal of the LAC reflects that of the OAIC as a whole, to create, enhance and maintain an intellectual, technological, and administrative environment to maximize geriatrics research studying the interaction of genetic and social and behavioral factors affecting aging and late life disease to influence aged phenotypes and their associated health outcomes.